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Amidst the magnificence of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, a throng of present-day migrants—mostly Latino, Asian, and Black—gather on an incline with their humble sacks and bags. A father in casual wear holds a baby, while a kid in sneakers sits glumly in the foreground. Above in the lofty skies, the divine symbol is positioned on a bright shrine within the radiant glow of dangling golden lines suggesting the divine essence.

This humane and magnificent scene constitutes a segment of what is perhaps the most significant new piece of public art in a currently divided United States.

“My hope is that viewers grasp from this artwork,” affirms the painter, “is that everyone belongs in this collective journey. And to have this enormous platform to say something like that is an extraordinary privilege.”

This house of worship, referred to as the people’s church, ministers to around 2.5 million area worshippers. It stands as a key cathedral in the United States and by far the most visible with 5 million visitors a year. This mural is the biggest lasting installation commissioned by the cathedral in its 146-year history.

A Vision of Unity

Through the awarded artistic concept, the artwork accomplishes a lasting goal to commemorate the celebrated apparition featuring holy figures including Mary, Joseph, John the Baptist, the Lamb, and angels at a little rural church in Knock, Ireland, in 1879. The creator broadens that tribute to involve past Irish migrants and New York’s broader multicultural immigration.

The sizable wall on the west side, flanking the cathedral’s main doors, features a quintet of historic local Catholic notables on one side and on the other, a quintet of modern-day uniformed first responders. Each cluster is overseen by a grand heavenly being against a backdrop of shining bands evoking God’s presence.

Recognizing Varied Contributions

Regarding the five Catholic icons the institution highlighted founder John Hughes, Dorothy Day, the onetime nonconformist turned campaigner, and Pierre Toussaint, the former enslaved Haitian who became a New York society hairdresser and major Catholic benefactor. The artist added New York state’s 17th-century Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, the initial Native American saint, and picked Al Smith, the popular New York politico of the 1920s and 1930s. The frontline personnel were similarly the painter’s inclusion.

The artwork’s approach is clearly realistic—a deliberate selection. “Because this is an American painting, not a European one,” the artist explains. “Europeans have hundreds of years of incredible ecclesiastical art, they don’t need to do it that way any more. Yet locally, it’s essential.”

An Endeavor of Love

The huge undertaking required around thirty individuals, featuring a skilled artisan for the metallic elements. It took five months to sketch the work at a large workspace in an industrial area, and then most of a year for the intensive artwork—clambering up and down a scaffold to gauge things.

“Given my familial background in design,” he replies. “Therefore, I grasped spatial planning.”

As for the retiring cardinal, he declared at the mural’s presentation: “People inquire if this comments on migration? Well, sure we are, all right? In short, that migrants are blessed beings.”

“We’re all in this together,” the painter echoes. “Despite personal feelings,” he notes. There are supporters of various politicians among the models. And multiple different religions. “However, common human experience unites all,” he affirms. “It includes those beyond one’s circle.”